


'Round About We Go

by AvinRyd



Series: Painted Upon the Walls of Our Hearts [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Delta Episode, F/F, Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, background Steven/Wallace, personal take on ORAS player character, so kind of May/Zinnia I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 06:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8700532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvinRyd/pseuds/AvinRyd
Summary: ""Waiting for someone?"With a start, Cora turned. Steven Stone stood behind her, pale eyebrows raised in curiosity. With a slight smile, he offered her a glass of something gold and bubbling. She took it and nodded.“Thanks.” Taking a sip of her drink, she offered no more in answer to his question.--A New Year's ball.





	

Glittering crystal and shimmering satin, all lit by the glow of obliging Volbeat, sparkled in blue irises. Even after years of attendance, the Pokemon League’s annual New Year’s Ball still managed to surprise Cora with its opulence. The air was filled with the hubbub of chatter and laughter over the orchestra’s music; the buffet table’s many aromas tickled her nose. However, the League Champion registered little of this. Her focus was strictly trained on the mass of people in the room.

“Waiting for someone?”

With a start, Cora turned. Steven Stone stood behind her, pale eyebrows raised in curiosity. With a slight smile, he offered her a glass of something gold and bubbling. She took it and nodded.

“Thanks.” Taking a sip of her drink, she offered no more in answer to his question.

Steven’s eyes slid skyward in a moment of playful exasperation, but he accepted her reticence with good grace. Together now, they watched. On the dance floor, couples twirled, their outfits sparkling as though studded with jewels. Cora smoothed her midnight-blue skirt with her free hand, uncharacteristically self-conscious in her formal gown. Still, her attention remained far away.

The song of the moment came to a close. As the opening strains of the next sounded, Steven took Cora’s empty glass, handing his and hers to a passing server. Cora eyed him as he extended his hand.

“Would you do me the honor of a dance, Cora?”

The light that danced in the former Champion’s eyes was not altogether familiar, but they’d been friends long enough to quell Cora’s initial distrust. With an answering smile, she took the offered hand and allowed herself to be swept onto the floor.

A career of these sorts of events had Steven leading her expertly across the room. Despite Cora’s stumbles, they weaved through the other dancers with grace. Every once in awhile, he would lean in close to comment on one or more of the dignitaries without being overheard. His commentary was, as usual, hilarious, and Cora found herself grinning as they whirled about. That was, until she saw a pair of vermilion eyes, wide and confused, over Steven’s shoulder.

With no care to the music, Cora stopped. As if reading her mind, Steven stepped back, hands falling to his sides. Cora stayed long enough to give her friend a look of shocked betrayal before she was gone, chasing after a retreating dark braid. Turning away, Steven made his way off the dance floor as well. Halfway through his second glass of champagne, Wallace appeared at his side.

“That was cruel, Steven.” The Sootopolian said, face grim.

Steven nodded in response, staring into the sparkling depths of his glass, “If they want to survive, their relationship must be strong. You and I both know this society will break them, otherwise.”

“Still.” As the taller man turned to go, his hand brushed Steven’s. Then he was gone, leaving the other alone with his thoughts.

~Ɑ~

“Zinnia! Zinnia, wait!”

Cora was running pell mell after the other woman, not easy in the heels she’d chosen for the night. Zinnia had a clear advantage in her slipper flats and she abused it until they both were on the balcony outside the ballroom, far from the other guests. She came to an eventual standstill, back to Cora, and clasped her hands behind her. The other woman stumbled to a halt a few paces behind, the heels kicked off in case Zinnia took off again. Silence settled thick about them; even the noise of the party was muffled.

“He’s grown into quite the dashing prince. ‘Course, he’s always seemed that way.”

Cora flinched back at the biting tone. Suddenly, she was glad they weren’t facing each other.

“It’s not like that. He- Honestly, I don’t know what that was about. We’ve never- He’s always been-”

A sigh, and Zinnia turned. “Why did you invite me here?”

In spite of the situation, Cora’s cheeks heated and she could barely meet the vermilion gaze leveled at her. “I- I just wanted to dance with you…”

Silence again, but of a different sort. It hummed around them with one party’s shock and another’s regret. Trying not to stare or look as desperate for a response as she felt, Cora finally got a good look at the other woman. Her dress was in a style that she must have run across while traveling. The Champion had never seen anything like it in Hoenn. Black silk wrapped close to Zinnia’s every contour, embellished with gold and red flowers, trimmed in gold ribbon, and overlapping close about her pale neck. With only short sleeves, the garment couldn’t hide the Draconid’s fidgeting fingers, nor when she reached to grasp her wrist with the opposite hand.

“Dance? That’s it?” She finally managed. “Why?”

Cora’s face colored further. “Erm… When I was a kid, I had this book of fairy tales. And they would always end with the prince and princess dancing at some ball or other and- And I always thought I’d want to do that with...well…” The words wouldn’t come and she couldn’t even bring herself to look up. Eventually though, the soft  _ shhh-shh _ -ing of silk on skin brought her eyes from the ground.   

Zinnia had a hand pressed to her mouth with eyes wide in endearing surprise. Twin smudges of color flushed those pale cheekbones, as well as a streak of...was that paint? Cora felt her mouth twitch up in a smile as she closed the few feet of distance between them, fingers coming up to brush the yellow smudge on her companion’s face.

“Did you come here straight from the tower?”

A nod, and Zinnia’s blush deepened under the paint stain. “I lost track of time, that’s why I was late. Had to clean up…”

Cora gave a cheeky grin and rubbed the smudge out with a spit-damp thumb. “Missed a spot.” 

Neither spoke for a moment. Then, through the quiet, the strains of the orchestra beginning another dance drifted to fill the void. Carefully, giving Zinnia every chance to pull away, Cora reached out, placing one hand on silk-clad waist, the other clasping Zinnia’s hand.

“Please?”

“I-” Zinnia’s eyes darted, trying to break eye contact but not quite able to. “I don’t know how to dance. Not the traditional Hoenn dances, anyway…”

Cora released the other woman for a moment to guide a pale hand to her shoulder, then pulled Zinnia close once more. “Relax, this one’s easy. Three steps: one in the direction I lead you, then two in place.” And without further ado, they were off.

Their waltz was stumbling at first. Zinnia had never danced before and this was Cora’s first time leading. Regardless, both were grinning, laughing through stepped-on toes and letting out surprised breaths when the other decided to changes directions on them. So preoccupied were they that neither noticed the curtains being drawn between them and the ballroom, nor Steven’s shadow visible before the fabric dropped closed. It was only when the music faded into the night that the women realized just how bright the starlight had gotten. 

Cora reached out to brush a silver-highlighted strand of hair from Zinnia’s face. She marveled at the contrast of star glints in vermillion eyes, unaware how those same lights set off her own sea-blue orbs. Zinnia, however, was transfixed.

“Can I hazard a guess as to how your fairy tales ended?” she breathed, moving just the slightest bit more into Cora’s space.

Cora’s answer didn’t even make it past her lips before they were kissing. Her head spun in the best way. It was like hurtling towards the stars once more,  but instead of leaving her other half behind they flew together, stars and moon blurring together in a shimmering veil of silver mist.

It couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, Cora mused as they pulled apart. Still, it felt as though she was looking at a completely different person. Zinnia’s eyes were lit up in a way she’d never seen them before, embarrassed flush gone away in the rush of the moment. A half-grin pulled on her lips, (lips that now had a trace of Cora’s pink lipstick overtop their red,) that then morphed into a full smile as they both laughed, breathless. Unbidden, their hands found their match with the other and fingers laced together tightly.

“I know I just showed up,” Zinnia murmured, “but do you wanna get out of here?”

For one painful moment, Cora looked back at the drawn curtains. By all rights she should be at the party until midnight, advertising the league and mingling with up-and-coming trainers. It was one of the many duties a League Champion was saddled with.

“Yeah. Let’s go.” Cora turned back from the window, pulling out a pokeball from her tiny wristlet. “Do you mind flying?”

“Not at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @themodethecitythesoul for more shenanigans.


End file.
